Sometimes at our Centers, we do not hear from a client for a long time after they leave us and at times we don’t know what some clients ultimately end up choosing when they leave our four walls.
There have been times when abortion-minded clients ended up choosing life and we hear about it months later. Sometimes, we find out that some of our clients who were excited about their pregnancy later miscarried. And sometimes, those who we thought had changed their mind and decided to carry their baby still ended up choosing abortion later.
It’s a reminder that we are not in control here and every single one of our clients still has the gift of free-will. And, we are reminded that God usually shows off His faithfulness in really crazy ways.
We recently had a young woman come to see us who was pregnant and didn’t want children. She was in a relationship she didn’t want to be in, and she told us that she could barely take care of herself. She kept saying that her life is not going how she wants it to go right now, that she feels like life keeps happening to her. Feeling conflicted between what she believed about abortion and what she wanted for her life, our client scheduled an ultrasound for a few weeks later.
When her ultrasound appointment got closer, we found that the phone number we had for her wasn’t working anymore. We had no way to reach her. The day of, we prayed and prayed for her – that God’s presence would overwhelm her, that she would be reminded of His love and the love she experienced here, and that she would remember her appointment.
The day went on, and she didn’t show. Several of us went home that evening thinking about her, wondering what’s going on with her, and praying fervently over her life.
The next morning as we were opening up the building and getting ready for the day, we heard a knock at the back door. Kim, our nurse, opened it up and there she was: the girl who had been so heavy on our hearts. We were kind of stunned. She knew that she had missed her appointment the day before but asked if she could still have the ultrasound done.
It’s important to note here, too, that our schedule on this particular day had been completely cleared – all of our scheduled clients had cancelled their appointments. God knew that this one girl needed to be here that day and would need all of our attention – He knew that she needed hope.
We welcomed her in and did the ultrasound. The image of her tiny baby and its fluttering heartbeat on the screen made her think and question: there’s a heartbeat already?
At the end of her ultrasound as she was about to leave, she was still feeling conflicted and unsure what she was going to do. But we know that God is doing something in this girl’s life. He is drawing her to Him.
Because of the way that He moved through our prayers, we trust that He’s the One doing the real work, the heavy lifting, and we just need to follow the leading of our faithful God.
by Katelynn Martin